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Public Banking Avoids Today's Debacle
by Stephen Lendman
Putting money back in public hands where it belongs would avoid what's now ongoing. It's an idea whose time has come.
It's how to run America's economy. It's about doing it responsibly. It's been done before. It's high time things worked that way again.
Money power in private hands doesn't work. The Fed's been looting America for a century. It bears full responsibility for today's crisis. Its deplorable record explains why. It includes:
- rising consumer debt;
- record budget and trade deficits;
- an out-of-control national debt;
- record numbers of personal and business bankruptcies;
- millions of home foreclosures;
- depression level unemployment, poverty, homelessness and hunger;
- an unprecedented wealth gap between rich elites and ordinary Americans; and
- a hugely unstable economy lurching from one crisis to another.
America: The Republic of Lying
by Stephen Lendman
Longtime investigative journalist Seymour Hersh addressed it. More on what he said below.
Others like him did years earlier. They included HL Mencken, Charles Edward Russell, Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair, and IF Stone among others.
Stone (1907 - 1989) said he "tried to bring the instincts of a scholar to the service of journalism; to take nothing for granted; to turn journalism into literature; to provide radical analysis with a conscientious concern for accuracy, and in studying the current scene to do (his) very best to preserve human values and free institutions." He deplored the ascendancy of "right-wing kooks" taking over America. Ralph Nader called him a modern day Tom Paine.
Israel and Washington Target Iran
by Stephen Lendman
Olive branches aren't in either country's vocabulary. Both nations are modern day Spartas writ large. They live by the sword.
They do so irresponsibly. They do it lawlessly. They're ruthlessly out-of-control. They're partners in crime.
They deplore peace and stability. They thrive on conflict and violence. They wage one war after another. They threaten humanity in the process.
They're rogue states. They make more enemies than friends. Threatening, intimidating, and bullying don't win hearts and minds. Nor does causing unimaginable levels of human suffering.
Putin Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
by Stephen Lendman
The International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation Among Nations of the World (IASUCANW) nominated him for the 2014 award.
On October 11, this year's winner will be announced. Annual nominations must be postmarked by February 1.
Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov collaborated. They've addressed regional conflicts responsibly. They've gone all out for peace in Syria. They want things resolved diplomatically. They want all sides on board to do so. They continue doing it against long odds. Both men deserve recognition for their efforts. They persist tirelessly.
They do it knowing Obama wants regime change. War is his bottom line option to achieve it. Preventing it will be a monumental achievement. So will resolving Syria's conflict peacefully.
Netanyahu's General Assembly Dissembling
by Stephen Lendman
Last year he made a fool out of himself. He did so before a world audience. His cartoon bomb went viral. It bombed.
He looked more cartoonish than his prop. One cartoonist showed a picture of Daffy Duck's head exploding. An observer referred to Bibi's "Clint Eastwood chair" moment.
Another compared his explosive to what Warner Bros.' animated character Wile E. Coyote used in Looney Tunes cartoons.
A Washington Post op-ed asked if his stunt was a "poor choice of a ridiculously-looking, over-simplified bomb cartoon (or) a calculated choice (to) create (an) indelible image everyone would be talking about?"
He didn't calculate what they'd say. The Wall Street Journal compared his stunt to Nikitia Krushchev's shoe-banging incident.
Public Banks Are Key to Capitalism
Ellen Brown
To ask whether public banks would interfere with free markets assumes that we have free markets, which we don’t. Banking is heavily subsidized and is monopolized by Wall Street, which has effectively “bought” Congress. Banks have been bailed out by the government, when in a free market they would have gone bankrupt. The Federal Reserve blatantly manipulates interest rates in a way that serves Wall Street, lending trillions at near-zero interest and pushing rates so artificially low that local governments have lost billions in interest-rate swaps.
State and municipal governments already have public lending programs, which are generally not seen as distortions of the free market. They exist because private banks are not lending in some sectors that need financing. Montana finances first-time ranchers and farmers; Sonoma County has its Energy Independence Program; and San Francisco has half a dozen mortgage lending and small business programs. Globally, public banks lend countercyclically, providing credit when and where other banks won’t. This does not crowd out private banks. Germany and Taiwan, which have strong public banking sectors, are among the most competitive banking markets in the world.
World Reaction to US Government Shutdown
by Stephen Lendman
This writer reacted by saying what a way to run the country. So did London's
Telegraph. It headlined "American shutdown: no way to run a country."
Washington agencies partly or entirely halted operations. They did so ignominious. Around 800,000 federal workers were furloughed.
They're on unpaid leave. They're temporarily laid off through no fault of their own. Both sides share blame. They maintain rock hard positions.
Neither party's willing to give a little. They won't bend for the good of the country. They won't sacrifice self-interests to save millions of ordinary Americans from enormous harm.
How Stupid Are Limbaugh Listeners?
Joel S. Hirschhorn
While driving on my usual errands run the other day I listened a little to Limbaugh’s radio show. As usual I was completely amazed at the incredible misinformation vomited by the champion of stupidity.
Limbaugh strongly condemned Obamacare because he was convinced that the government has no constitutional right to require citizens to purchase anything, certainly not health insurance. Interestingly, he did not condemn the conservative controlled Supreme Court for allowing this to happen. Apparently, superrich Limbaugh forgets that car owners are required to buy automobile insurance. And there are now jurisdictions where home owners are required to buy flood insurance. There are also places where people must pay for an ambulance if they do not have insurance coverage. And let us not forget that government mandates parents to send their children to schools, which requires various kinds of spending (as does even home schooling). To get from one place to another by car often requires paying a bridge or tunnel toll, as yet another example. When I travel by air my ticket includes several government mandated costs.
Anti-Iranian Media Bias
by Stephen Lendman
US major media bias is longstanding. It's over-the-top attacking America's enemies.
Scurrilous misinformation substitutes for honest reporting and analysis. Doing so is standard editorial policy.
Lies, damn lies, and scurrilous ones repeat with disturbing regularity. Syria is wrongfully vilified. So is Iran.
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) provides a vital service. It's a credible media watchdog.
It exposes media misinformation, bias and censorship. It features truth and full disclosure. It does so because it matters.
America and Israel v. Iran
by Stephen Lendman
On September 30, The New York Times headlined "Discussing Iran, Obama and Netanyahu Display Unity."
On Monday, both leaders met at the White House. "Mr. Netanyahu said he was comforted to hear Mr. Obama declare that Iran's 'conciliatory words have to be matched by real actions.' "
"The president said he would take no options off the table, including military action, to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon." Both leaders are largely likeminded on Iran. According to Council on Foreign Relation (CFR) Iranian expert Ray Takeyh:
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